Consumer Watchdog is a (fiercely) independent consumer rights and advocacy organisation campaigning on behalf of the consumers of Botswana, helping them to know their rights and to stand up against abuse. Contact us at watchdog@bes.bw, call us on +267 3904582 or find us on Facebook by searching for Consumer Watchdog Botswana. Everything we do for the consumers of Botswana has always been and always will be entirely free.

Friday, 5 August 2016

The Voice - Consumer's Voice

They aren’t my messages!

Please assist. I bought an SIM card a year ago and ever since then I have been receiving banking details of what appears to be a former user of the number. These messages tell of the account number, where the withdrawal took place and how much is left. I am getting really annoyed by these texts and thinking of just posting the details on Facebook so that the owner of that bank account can do something about it because I am also concerned about safety of such info reaching elsewhere?

Firstly, please don’t post these details on Facebook. The former owner of this number doesn’t deserve to be embarrassed. Instead send me the cellphone number you bought and I’ll let the bank know so they can stop these messages going to the wrong person.

It really is very important that every time any of us change our cell numbers that we let the right people know what’s happened, most importantly our banks. I’m surprised that the previous customer hasn’t noticed that they aren’t receiving their alert messages any more. Wouldn’t you be worried if you stopped getting them? I know I would.

The former owner is also at some risk. Don’t they to get a call from their bank if they spot something suspicious happening with their account? I know I’ve received calls when I’ve been in another country from my bank checking that it’s really me using my credit card and although it’s sometimes a little irritating (it’s feels a bit like my Mum checking up on me) I recognize that it’s actually in my interest as well as theirs.

So let’s help our banks keep us informed about what’s going on with our accounts.

Is Pipcoin genuine?

Mr Richard, please educate me more about #PIPCOIN. Is it another pyramid or Ponzi scheme?

Several people have asked us about Pipcoin, asking if you can really earn the 35% monthly profit they claim. Is it real or a scam?

It’s a scam.

Their web site describes it as "Africa’s first P2P Cryptocurrency" and they say "you don't have to make contracts or pledge your property. In Pipcoin there are no lenders and no debtors. Everything is very simple: one participant asks for help – another one helps. The only thing that Pipcoin demands from its participants is to be honest and kind to each other."

This sounds just like the other big Ponzi scheme at the moment, MMM Global. A mysterious scheme where money just grows magically. Smartly, what they've done, just like MMM Global, is to claim to have invented a new currency. MMM Global has the bizarre 'Mavro', these guys offer you the chance to trade in their mysterious Pipcoin, something they're trying desperately to imply is like Bitcoin, a genuine virtual currency.

The closest they get to explaining how you can make your fortune is when they say that after joining the scheme “you will be exposed to many options of making income such as buying coins from a minimum of R100 to registering an affiliate for a bonus of 10%. Traders can only withdraw their funds after a month or can choose to leave it to grow higher as calculations."

That's just a sequence of words with precisely no meaning. And the 35% return? We all know, don’t we, that there is no genuine investment that can make that sort of return. If there was, don’t you think bank and big investment companies would be doing it? The only way they can pay out 35% is by using the payments from newer members to pay older members. That's called a Ponzi scheme.

Pipcoin is no more than a Ponzi scheme that can't explain how it works or where money will come from, that hints at the current sexy online currency issue and which claims you can make 35% profit per month.

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We support consumers in Botswana, educating them on their rights, helping them to fix problems and exposing scams. Email us at watchdog@bes.bw, or call on +267 3904582 or fax on +267 3911763. It's all free, you've nothing to lose!